Spotlight & Giveaway: The Wedding Planner Playbook by Shannon Stults

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Shannon Stults to HJ!

Hi Shannon and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Wedding Planner Playbook!

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

Wedding planner Tori Schaefer has spent her career guiding couples as they take that first major step on their journey toward happy ever after, and after ten years in Atlanta, she moves to Bedland Shores to take over her mom’s wedding planning firm. Now Tori has a new business, a new assistant, and—after an instant connection with handsome, charming Wyatt Rhoades and a crazy, fun night filled with beach tacos and storytelling—possibly her own chance at love…until she learns that not only is Wyatt also a wedding planner, but that they’re both competing to land the Bedland wedding. As in the Bedland wedding. Now Tori and Wyatt have to decide if they can handle being “just friends” or if it’s better for both their businesses (and their hearts) if they put their rivalry first.
 

Please share your favorite lines or quote(s) from this book:

“We all have our weaknesses. It doesn’t make you a failure. It usually just means you’re better suited for something else. What’s important is that we acknowledge those weaknesses and move on.”

What inspired this book?

The whole thing started from these two different ideas I wanted to write, one about an instant connection and one about a business rivalry. Then I realized how perfect it would be if I combined them, exploring that delicate line of maintaining professional boundaries and discovering where this new friendship could lead, and the ideas just started flowing. The whole thing pretty much just wrote itself from there.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

Tori and Wyatt are both amazing wedding planners. Wyatt comes up with these fun, creative ideas and has that artist’s eye while Tori is this planning machine who can handle even the most stressful situations. Taking over her mom’s firm, Tori’s got a lot to prove to herself and her mother, and I thought she would be nervous to take on the Bedland wedding. But she knew exactly what she was doing and ended up being extremely confident in herself which was quite refreshing. With Wyatt, what surprised me was the crazy corny T-shirts. I remember I saw this shirt one day with a volcano on it that said All You Need Is Lava and I was like, “That’s so bad…I think Wyatt would love this!”

What was your favorite scene to write?

It’s not really a specific scene so much as any time Wyatt gets to let his imagination run free. He’s always had this wild imagination ever since he was a kid, and any scene where his juices start flowing is always a fun exercise for me. For example, this snippet comes from a conversation between Tori and Wyatt just after he learns that she is his former rival Lynn Morris’s daughter (a surprise to him since Tori said her last name was Schaefer). Tori explains this is because her mother remarried, and he admits this scenario makes much more sense than the one he’d just made up in his head: that she changed her name to escape her unattractive ex-boyfriend who she’d testified against in court.

“Just out of curiosity, what crime did my theoretical unattractive ex-boyfriend commit exactly?”
“He hacked into the government database and transferred millions of dollars to a run-down puppy rescue in Vermont.”
Her forehead scrunched, eyes narrowing. “That’s oddly specific. And why puppies? That’s so not evil.”
“Well, I couldn’t make him that bad. Otherwise you wouldn’t have dated him in the first place.”
“Maybe. But now I’m the jerk who testified against a puppy-loving saint.”
He grinned down at her. “Would it help to know that he hates recycling and has a slew of unpaid parking tickets?”
She stared up at the sky like she needed to think about it, then smiled. “A little bit, yeah.”

What was the most difficult scene to write?

Pretty much any scene where I had to actually describe a wedding—and yes, I do realize the irony in that statement. It’s much easier for me to write dialogue and action where things naturally move and flow. So when there’s a lot of setting and décor description, it’s difficult for me to get the visual painted efficiently while still making sure things are moving enough to keep the reader engaged. It would be so much easier to leave out most of it, but with a book about a wedding planner, readers expect (rightfully so) those kinds of details. Probably the best example of this is the first scene of the book, which acts as a meet cute on top of the necessary wedding descriptors. Then there’s the added pressure of being the opening scene, and therefore, the place to both lay the groundwork AND hook the reader.

A soft breeze rustled and rippled the sheer linen canopy over Tori’s head, currently lit with the warm orange glow of the setting sun. Round tables draped with turquoise and white tablecloths lined the edges of the tent, each bestowed with a centerpiece of breathtaking coral calla lilies. Coral had been deemed overdone at her old firm, but even she had to admit that it went beautifully with the turquoise and touches of gold at each place setting.
Between settling into her new home in Bedland Shores and getting a handle on the business and office space her mother had given her, she hadn’t had time to look into the town’s only other wedding planner. She knew the business’s name, Narrative Weddings, but aside from that, she knew nothing. One thing Tori was certain of: whoever the woman was, she had an eye for visual detail.
Tori drew her untouched daiquiri to her lips.
“I’d go easy on that if I were you.”

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

I wouldn’t say it’s a departure from my style, no. I think anyone who has read my Willow Creek series would recognize my style and voice in The Wedding Planner Playbook, though this one is a clean romance through and through.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

Be proud and confident in what you do and what you’ve worked hard and put your heart and soul into. But even more than that, do what you love. There is no greater waste in life than throwing away time on the things that don’t bring you joy. If what you’re doing doesn’t make you happy, Marie Kondo that sh*t and throw it out. (Except the laundry. We can’t afford to just keep buying new underwear when it gets dirty.)

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’ve set myself an impossible (for me anyways) goal of starting AND completing two books this summer. One is a YA contemporary romance I’ve been dying to write for what feels like forever, and the other is an adult romance that’s a little different from anything I’ve written before. But nothing with a release date…yet, haha.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An ebook copy of The Wedding Planner Playbook & 3 Tule ebooks

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: When you start something that’s harder than or not as much fun as you expected—be it a job, hobby, workout program, or even something as simple as a new puzzle or book—is your personal philosophy to push forward or move on? (PS. There are no wrong answers.)

 
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Excerpt from The Wedding Planner Playbook:

“I feel ridiculous, Lettie.” Tori stood at the edge of the white linen tent with her phone pressed to her ear and her arm held tightly across her stomach. Sand shifted beneath her as she eased her weight from one bare foot to the other.
This was what she got for letting her best friend pick out her outfit. Had she known that she’d been getting all dressed up to spend hours on the beach, she would have foregone her strappy heels for a pair of flat sandals. As it was, she’d left her shoes in the trunk of her car along with the purse she hadn’t wanted to lug around all night.
Thank the Lord this dress had a pocket for her phone.
“It can’t be that bad.”
“I’m at a wedding for two people I’ve never met, thanks to you and Deb,” she whispered loudly. She could hardly hear herself over the blaring music, but the last thing she wanted was to draw even more attention. Fifteen feet away, a crowd of people in khaki shorts and colorful sundresses danced chaotically to “Uptown Funk.” “I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“How is that possible? You’re a wedding planner. You’ve been to a million of them.”
“True, but I’m also usually the one in charge.” She was used to running around in the background, giving whatever orders were needed to make things run smoothly. But this?
She’d never been an actual guest at a wedding before. At least not when she was alone and didn’t know anyone else there. And certainly not when she’d felt so uncomfortably exposed. One curious glance after another shifted to where she stood alone in the corner.
“It’s like I’ve got a giant neon sign over my head or something,” she muttered into the phone.
“What? I can barely hear you.”
Tori threw a tiny scowl at a nearby speaker. She scanned the dancers and small groups chatting around her and met several pairs of eyes. Each flicked away within half a second. Who knew how many more were watching her that she couldn’t see? “Why did you make me come here?”
“The father of the bride is the head of Bedland Shores’s small business bureau. And as the new owner of Planned to Perfection Weddings, it’s good business sense to get our name out there. It’s called networking. Please tell me you’ve been networking.”
“I did network, and it took all of ten minutes out of a four-hour event.” Those ten minutes had been a piece of cake. Tori had never had a problem talking business. It was after the business talk that she struggled. She wasn’t the type to win people over with a smile and some chitchat. That was all Lettie. Which was exactly why she’d asked her best friend to leave her job in public relations and come work for her, handling all the social media and marketing, in the first place. “Isn’t this supposed to be your job?”
“Plus,” Lettie went on, ignoring her question, “Deb and I thought this could be a good chance for you to have some fun. And not in a standing-off-in-a-corner-and-silently-sizing-up-the-competition kind of way.” Tori stared down at her sand-covered feet. After ten years, her friend knew her all too well. “Now I want you to hang up with me, get yourself a drink, smile at a few people, and flirt shamelessly with whatever guy decides to hit on you.”
“Lettie—”
“No buts, Torrance Schaefer. I know you’re nervous about the meeting with the Bedlands tomorrow morning. So tonight, you’re going to relax and have fun. Promise me.”
There was no point in arguing when Lettie pulled out the full name. “I promise I’ll try.”
“Do better than try. You work way too hard, and you deserve a night off. And that means absolutely no work talk. None. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Good. Now go have fun, and I’ll see you in the morning.” She could practically hear the triumphant grin in Lettie’s voice. “And don’t touch your hair too much or it’ll go flat. Call me if you need a ride home tonight or anything.”
“Will do. Bye.” Tori ended the call before stowing her phone away in the pocket of her sky-blue sundress.
Hang up, get a drink, smile. Socializing and networking may not be her forte, but checklists, at least, she could handle. Tori drew in a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and headed straight for the bar where the bartender appeared to be serving a variety of daiquiris.
Strawberry daiquiri in hand, and after managing a warm smile to the bartender that would make Lettie proud, Tori found one of the wooden support posts at the edge of the tent to hide beside.
A soft breeze rustled and rippled the sheer linen canopy over her head, currently lit with the warm orange glow of the setting sun. Round tables draped with turquoise and white tablecloths lined the edges of the tent, each bestowed with a centerpiece of breathtaking coral calla lilies. Coral had been deemed overdone at her old firm, but even she had to admit that it went beautifully with the turquoise and touches of gold at each place setting. The whole thing was on the small side, nothing compared to the wedding events she’d taken part in in Atlanta for the last ten years, but there was something kind of lovely about the more intimate gathering.
Between settling into her new home in Bedland Shores and getting a handle on the business and office space her mother had given her, she hadn’t had time to look into the town’s only other wedding planner. She knew the business’s name, Narrative Weddings, but aside from that, she knew nothing. One thing Tori was certain of: whoever the woman was, she had an eye for visual detail.
Tori drew her untouched daiquiri to her lips.
“I’d go easy on that if I were you.”
She stopped just shy of taking her first sip as a man peeked over at her from the other side of the wooden post next to her.
His lips curved in a crooked smile that went perfectly with khaki shorts and rolled-up shirt sleeves. His dark blond hair was thick with just enough curl to make it stick up oddly in places. If that grin weren’t enough to take her breath away, those broad shoulders and that square jaw sure did it.
He pushed a pair of dark-rimmed glasses up his nose, then leaned one shoulder against the beam, a poster boy for the fresh-out-of-bed look that matched the casual tone of the wedding perfectly. It was nothing like the classic, sophisticated ambiance Tori generally aimed for with the nuptial events she orchestrated in Atlanta, but there seemed to be a few perks to the more laidback approach. Case in point…
“S-sorry, what was that?”
His eyes glittered with a playful twinkle she suspected had little to do with the round paper lanterns just turning on overhead. “The drinks. I know the bartender, and he has a tendency to make them a little strong.”
“Is that so?” she asked, studying the innocent-looking pink drink in her hand.
He nodded toward the sea of dancing figures in the middle of the tent. “Just ask the groom over there.”
She searched the crowd, expecting to find the man she’d seen waiting with a sweaty forehead and shaking hands at the end of the aisle for his bride only hours ago. Sure enough, he stood in the middle of a dance circle, but any sign of his earlier nerves had vanished as he swung his hips haphazardly from side to side with complete abandon.
“Maybe he just got started a little early,” she offered. “You know, wedding day jitters.”
“Does the pastor usually get wedding day jitters too?”
Tori’s eye caught on the older man who’d elegantly officiated the ceremony, now flailing about on the ground as he attempted—and failed—to do the worm on the uneven sand floor.
She set her drink carefully on the table next to her. “Point taken.”
He chuckled, offering her his hand. “I’m Wyatt.”
“Tori.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Tori.”
“You too.” Did he hold her hand for an extralong beat before releasing it, or was that just time slowing as her heart started racing? Geez, the way she reacted to him anyone would think she was already a few daiquiris in. She hardly recognized her own thoughts.
She took a small step back and mentally shook herself. “Are you close to the bride and groom?”
He shrugged. “We all grew up together, but I wouldn’t call us particularly close. I’m mostly here in a professional capacity.” He shoved both his hands into his pockets, the movement jostling an expensive camera she hadn’t noticed hanging around his neck.
“I see.” So he was the photographer hired to shoot the wedding? Made sense as to why he was hanging around at the edge with her instead of losing himself in the thick of it like the rest of the guests. If he turned out to be good, maybe she’d consider hiring him for some of her events. Though she usually had a strict rule about using only the best vendors and photographers, the ones who had the experience, not to mention the notoriety, to guarantee the smooth, perfect wedding her clients and their guests always expected.
Still, she might could make an exception for Mr. Handsome Dreamy Eyes here.
“What about you, Tori? Did you go to college with the bride and groom?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because this is a small town where everybody knows everybody, and I do believe I would have noticed you before now if you were from around here.” Well, that explained all the staring and attention she’d been getting. Her neon sign theory hadn’t been so far off after all. “Did you all go to Valdosta State together?”
“I’m afraid not. I’ve actually never met either of them. It was my mother’s assistant’s invite.” Her assistant now, technically. “But she couldn’t make it, so I agreed to come in her place. My friend decided it would be good for our new business, seeing as we only just moved here.”
“Oh yeah? What’s your business?”
She’d already told her story a few times in the week she’d been in Bedland Shores. How she had worked for a company in Atlanta for the past ten years. That her mom had run Planned to Perfection quite successfully in the small coastal town for almost as long before deciding to step down and hand over everything she’d built to her only daughter.
Coming into a new town full of strangers wasn’t easy, and work had been Tori’s go-to whenever she felt unsure what to say. And yet, standing here with Wyatt as the sun set over them, work was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Or could talk about, come to think of it.
“Unfortunately, that same friend made me promise not to talk about work tonight under threat of injury. And Lettie tends to take promises very seriously.”
“I take it you’re the workaholic type?” he asked with what sounded like genuine curiosity as opposed to the tone of judgment she was used to.
“Something like that.”
Wyatt laughed, causing a fresh wave of warmth to spread through her chest. He stood tall and faced her. “Well, I’d certainly hate for you to sustain bodily injury because of me. So let’s make a deal. I promise not to ask you about work or your business, ultimately saving you from your friend’s unbearable wrath. If…”
“If?”
His eyes twinkled again. “If you agree to get out of here with me right now.”
“Now?” Tori’s eyes fell on the camera hanging from his neck. “I thought you were here for a job. You can’t just leave early.”
“Why not? The hard part’s over, and I’ve got people who can handle the rest.”
That playful gleam in Wyatt’s eye was back in full force. Lettie did tell her to have fun tonight. But running off with a stranger in a town she didn’t know probably wasn’t what her friend had in mind. “What would we do exactly?”
His grin doubled as if he knew she’d already given in. “Well, with you being a newcomer to Bedland Shores, I feel it is my civic duty to show you around the town. Help you get to know your new home.”
“At seven o’clock at night?”
“There really is no time like the present.” He took a step closer. “Come on, what do you say?”
She bit her lip, her eyes searching his bright ones. This was probably a bad idea. She should be spending the rest of her night prepping for her morning meeting. But for the first time, her brain was battling against something even stronger, a bubble of excited energy in her chest and a strange desire in her gut to trust him, to see where this went.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Perfect. Let me tell some people I’m done for the night, and then we’ll go.”
Wyatt disappeared, and Tori took the opportunity to steal a quick sip from the daiquiri she’d left on the table to try to settle her nerves.
She coughed against the rage of pure fire that licked down her throat. Holy crap, he wasn’t kidding! The glass hit the table with an unceremonious thunk. She scanned the tent for Wyatt, spotting him talking to a man with shoulder-length light-blond hair and a full sleeve tattoo in charge of the DJ booth. A friend of his?
Wyatt patted him on the shoulder and made his way back across the sandy dancefloor, his fancy camera now missing from around his neck. “You ready to go?” He offered her his hand, and she took it with only minor hesitation. The second their hands met, any doubts melted away.
“All set.”
“Then today is your lucky day,” he said as he gently led her from the tent.
“Why’s that?”
He looked back over his shoulder. “Because I am a fantastic tour guide.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

May the best wedding planner win…

After spending years making a name for herself as one of Atlanta’s top wedding planners, Tori Schaefer moved to the small, coastal town of Bedland Shores, Georgia, to take over her mother’s wedding planning business. While attending a wedding to assess the local competition, Tori meets a charming, camera-wielding stranger with a smile that leaves her heart stuttering.

Wyatt Rhodes has always loved helping couples celebrate their special day and created Narrative Weddings to do just that. When he runs into a gorgeous woman at one of his weddings, he’s completely smitten until he learns she’s his competition for the most influential wedding the town has ever seen.

They have two weeks to find the perfect venue and pitch their ideas to the bride. Tori is willing to do whatever it takes to land the gig that’ll put her business on the map. Can she find the balance between attraction and rivalry, or will her determination to win lose her a chance at her own happy ever after?

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Meet the Author:

A small-town Georgia girl, Shannon finds no greater joy than stepping into the lives and worlds created by the written word. Despite a severe aversion to reading as a child, Shannon has since found a passion for literature that she’s nurtured with incessant reading and a Bachelor’s degree in English. It’s this passion that lets her bring her own imagination to life. Living in Athens, Ga with her sister and their four-legged furry friends, she is almost always in the middle of a book, working on her own stories, or traveling to seek inspiration in the world around her.
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